MLA FOR RESEARCH
For all research assignments (papers, PowerPoint presentations and other projects) you are required to follow the Modern Language Association or MLA research format. Each project will require a formal works cited page and proper text citations. These rules ensure that your finished product is free from PLAGIARISM
PLAGIARISM
What constitutes plagiarism?
Plagiarism- the use of another person’s work (thoughts, ideas, theories, etc.) without giving that person credit.
The following are all considered plagiarism:
1.Taking someone’s work verbatim (word for word) and presenting it as your own without the use of quotation marks AND proper citations.
2.Putting someone’s work into your own words WITHOUT PROPER CITATIONS.
3.Simply changing a select few of the author's words or rearranging the author's words.
How can you avoid plagiarism?
1.Use your own words. (If you can’t put the information into your own words, then you do not understand it adequately and it should not be used as part of your paper.)
2. Second, include the necessary in-text citations for all direct quotations, summarized and paraphrased material.
3. Third, complete an accurate works cited page.
Word of advice-When in doubt, cite your source
WORKS CITED PAGE
General Works Cited Format
Author (if known). “Full Title of the Work in Quotation Marks.” Name of Website/Full Title of the Complete
Work (if applicable) Italicized. Publisher or Sponsor (if not available use N.p.), Date of Publication (if
not available use n.d.). Web. Date of your visit.
Help Locating Website Information for Your Works Cited Entries:
1. The author is listed at the top of an article. Sometimes, no author is provided.
2. The “Full Title of the Work in Quotation Marks” is the title of your article, not the title of the website itself.
3. The name of the website/full title of complete work is typically listed at the top of the website. Some examples include: FoxNews.com, Time.com, IndyStar.com, Stem Cell Research.
4. Almost always, the publisher or sponsor of the website is listed at the very bottom of the webpage. Some examples include Time Inc., National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you cannot find a publisher, type N.p. Sometimes the publisher is the same as the website title. You still need to list it twice if that occurs.
5. The date of publication is either listed near the title, author, or at the bottom of the page. Sometimes you will only find a year or sometimes just a month and a year. That’s okay. If no date is provided, type n.d. in the appropriate place. Follow the proper formatting for dates.
6. This space is for the “type” of resource you are using. Internet resources are listed as Web. Novels are listed as Print.
7. The date of your visit to the website is the last entry in a citation. Follow proper formatting for dates.
Formatting for Works Cited Page
· The works cited page tells the reader what sources you used to write the paper. Including a source on the Works Cited page means that you have used information from that source in your paper and have provided a text citation. EACH ENTRY ON THE WORKS CITED PAGE MUST CORRESPOND TO AN IN-TEXT CITATION WITHIN THE PAPER.
· The Works Cited page is the last page of your paper and should have your last name and page number in the HEADER
· Center the words Works Cited at the top of the page, but do not underline, bold, or italicize them.
· Entries appear in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
o If the entry has more than one author, use the first author’s last name.
o If no author is listed, use the first word of the title, but disregard the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”. Articles that begin with numbers are listed before the alphabetical listings begin.
o If there are multiple sources by the same author, alphabetize those sources by the article title.
· Capitalize all major works in the titles of books, articles, etc.
· Start each entry at the left margin then indent each line after the first.
· Works Cited page should be double spaced.
Proper formatting for dates within a citation.
Dates are written with the Day first, then the Month (abbreviated to three letters and ending in a period) followed by the year. The month of May is not followed by a period. An example date: 25 Dec. 2013.
Example
Works Cited
Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007.
Web. 25 May 2009.
GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
IN-TEXT (PARENTHTICAL) CITATIONS
· In-Text citations tell the reader exactly where you got the information presented in your paper. THE IN-TEXT CITATIONS MUST CORRESPOND TO A SOURCE LISTED ON THE WORKS CITED PAGE.
· In-Text citations are enclosed in parentheses.
· In-Text citations include author’s last name and page number. (Smith, 10)
· When no author is listed, use the title and page number.
· If there are no page numbers on the website, use the author’s last name or title only.
· You must use in-text citations for and info that is not your own. This includes direct quotes, summarized information and paraphrased information.
DIRECT QUOTES
· When you use information verbatim (word for word), you must enclose it in quotation marks.
· If the quote is extended (five lines or more), you do not use quotation marks. Instead, you indent the quote five spaces on each side and single space it.
· If you choose to use only part of a quote, begin and/or end with ellipses
o “…Insert quote excerpt.”
o “Insert quote excerpt…”
o “…Insert quote excerpt…”
· You must use a text citation with direct quotes.
· Limit your use of direct quotes. In a short paper you should not have any EXTENDED direct quotes.
· All quotes need to be properly embedded within the text. This means a quote should not be a sentence on its own.
· You must introduce and explain the direct quotes that you choose to use. (Note: The larger the quote, the more explanation it requires.)
· Make copies of all written work or keep it on your hard drive or a jump drive until you receive a grade for it.
· Make and keep a copy of all sources used. You will be asked to verify documentation if they are questionable.
· For further research and MLA information check out https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
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§ Add again about intext and works cited matching.
§ Add Kelli’s research content